Babushka's is dead...Long live Babushka's!

Babushka's is dead...Long live Babushka's!

I'm here in Cleveland for a long weekend, spreading the Gospel of Roadhouse. Ralph Melton, icecreamchick and I were supposed to meet for dinner at Babushka's original Northfield Center location, only to discover that the building is vacant, with a big "For Rent" sign in the window.

Horrors!

But rejoice Roadfooders! I'm pleased to announce that Babushka's is alive and well at their Independence location. I'm even more pleased to announce that the quality of the food is as good as ever, now with full table service.

The three of us split an order of Chicken Paprikash (made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it was decadently rich, but slightly dry. Still quite tasty), a sampler plate (Smoked and Fresh Kielbasa, delicious sauerkraut, dumplings, and a Pierogi), and three more enormous and delicious Pierogi's (potato/cheddar/bacon, mushroom/Swiss cheese, and Kraut). We also started out with a couple bowls of fantastic, sweet/tart tomato soup--one with dumplings, one without. Nobody walked away hungry.

The grub was top-notch, the service was attentive and full of "character".

So all you Roadfooders who panicked at the title of this thread can relax. The "new" Babushka's is alive and well, and just as good as the original. Oh, and it's actually closer to Cleveland proper than the old joint.

For those wondering why they closed the Northfield Center location, the hostess told me the owners had reached a point in their lives where managing two restaurants was just too taxing. The Independence location is bigger and newer with more economic opportunities. Thus, they said "bye-bye" to Northfield Center.